ToughArmor MB991U3-1SB2.5” SATA HDD & SSD USB 3.0 External Enclosure

The ToughArmor series have proven themselves to be an excellent 2.5” mobile rack solution, and now we are proud to present the external version of the ToughArmor family, the MB991U3-1SB. The MB991U3-1SB is a full metal 2.5” SATA III to USB 3.0 external HDD/SSD enclosure that is built with enterprise-grade quality and has the ability to hot-swap drives. With the removable EZ-Slide Mini tray, users can quickly swap 2.5” SATA hard drives or SSDs without shutting down their system or devices, saving valuable time. The EZ-Slide Mini tray accepts most of the 2.5” SATA HDD / SSD on the market ranging from 5mm to 15mm drive height. The drive tray slot is designed to complement a variety ToughArmor drive trays, allowing users to easily access their hard drives or SSD used in internal ToughArmor units externally, anytime and anywhere. The USB 3.0 interface allows for blazing fast transfer speeds and is backward compatible with USB 2.0 interface to insure compatibility with many systems. The ToughArmor MB991U3-1SB combined with the benefits of portable enclosure and enterprise-class features. It is an ideal enclosure for enterprise storage application such as SMB data backup, data recovery, video production data archiving, data transportation and IT Pros.

Data Made to Go

The MB991U3-1SB is an enterprise-grade portable enclosure that allows users to quickly access their 2.5” SATA hard drives and SSDs through a single USB connection. The removable EZ-Slide Mini tray supports hot-swap and makes drive interchangeability completely hassle free. With the EZ-Slide Mini tray, users can swap multiple drives between trays, makes it an ideal enclosure for data backup, content archiving and data replication. For example, a video production company can use it for data archiving and then transport the SSD between locations. Small businesses can use it for critical data backup and store the drive in different location for offsite backup.

The drive tray slot of MB991U3-1SB is compatible with a variety of ToughArmor drive trays including the ToughArmor MB991, MB992, MB994, MB996 and MB998 series. This allows existing ToughArmor users to access their internal drive externally without opening up the case. It is a great tool for an individual drive diagnostic test. If you need to do a safe data erase or just simply expending system storage capacity, just remove the tray from the internal ToughArmor unit and insert it in the MB991U3-1SB to perform individual tasks externally.

The EZ-Slide Mini tray is designed to accommodate 5 to 15mm height 2.5” hard drive and SSD, provide maximum drive compatibility. Best of all, the MB991U3-1SB uses USB bus-powered and it does not require a power adapter to operate. Simply connect the USB cable to the system and you are ready to go. The ability to access any drive through any system makes it a perfect portable storage device for IT Pros and SMB users.

Blazing Fast USB 3.0 Performance

MB991U3-1SB is built with a USB 3.0 interface featuring UASP support*. With UASP, it can deliver blazing high transfer speeds up to 5Gbps to the supporting devices. The USB 3.0 is also backward compatible with the USB 2.0 interface, allowing the device to be used with any legacy system that still have USB 2.0 interface. If the system supports USB 3.0, you will be able to take advantage of the superior performance capabilities – which is crucial for professionals who need tools that perform their jobs quickly and efficiently.

For external protections, the MB991U3-1SB is built with metal for high durability and it comes with protective rubber sleeves for a sturdy stand either horizontally or vertically on any flat surface. The protective rubber sleeves prevent sliding or wobbling, giving the unit the best stability possible. The sleeve also allows for easy yet stable stacking of multiple MB991U3-1SB.

Making sure that your drives are in secure hands and drive longevity is carefully considered for any enterprise build and design. The MB991U3-1SB is built with a heavy-duty metal construction and is capable of holding up hard drives in the harshest environments. The full metal body and air ventilation design allows efficient heat dissipation for the hard drives throughout the enclosure.

The metal material used allows for effective heat dissipation from the hard drive to the enclosure. Multi-Flow Technology (MFT) effectively routes air flow correctly for excellent passive cooling, via ventilation slots on the front, rear, top and bottom (in multiple locations). Lastly, Anti-Vibration Technology (AVT) and EMI Grounding are used to provide a stable environment for the hard drives or SSD’s used to perform at its best.

Versatile Utility & Security

The easy to read front LED indicators will indicate when a drive is ejected (no light), powered (green), or accessed (flashing green). Active Power Technology (APT) allows each drive LED to be on only when a hard drive is inserted into the enclosure. For drive security, the MB991U3-1SB’s eagle-hook lock system makes sure your hard drives will not eject unintentionally. Additionally, the 2 segment key lock provides extra protection to physical theft of hard drives and safeguards any sensitive data. For extra security, we have designed a Kensington style security slot on the back of the device to prevent quick grab-and-run thefts of the entire enclosure.

There are plenty of USB 3.0 external enclosures for 2.5” hard drives and solid state drives, but none of them have the drive interchangeability and solid drive protection of the ToughArmor MB991U3-1SB! Designed with functionality in mind, this ToughArmor allows for easy management of data on the move while providing a solid platform for holding those drives.

The ease of use and functionality of the ToughArmor MB991U3-1SB is reflected by the design of the drive tray system. It allows for easy swaps of hard drives or SSDs with different trays. With the tray system of the ToughArmor MB991U3-1SB, you click the hinge out, pull out the drive tray, insert a different drive tray, click it in and go, making a drive swap quick, easy and secure without the need of additional tools.

For an example, if a media professional who works for post productions on a Mac Pro 2016 and wishes to backup his/her critical data to an individual drive, he or she is able to use the MB991U3-1SB to transfer backup data to the desired hard drive or SSD and simply eject the drive and place it into a physical hard disk archive. On top of that, ToughArmor MB991U3-1SB supports UASP for enhanced performance for faster transfer speeds, saving valuable time for all the media professionals. Even if someone has to work with an older Mac or Windows system, the ToughArmor MB991U3-1SB is backward compatible and can still be used with systems with a USB 2.0 interface.

The ToughArmor MB991U3-1SB can accommodate 2.5”SATA HDD / SSD with 7 – 15mm height and it is compatible with any system that has a USB interface. It is definitely a little nifty kit for any professional who deal with large data transfers on a daily basis.

A crash test using my Prius demonstrated that this thing is nearly indestructible. It showed no signs of damage following the test and while it it was being driven over it continued to transfer a 1.5GB video file. Speeds from the enclosure are also definitely a pro. Sequential read speeds clocked in at 210MB/s and sequential write speeds were around 250MB/s while a ADATA SP 550 was housed within. It is also very easy to use and practically designed.

In this review we will be checking out an external USB 3.0 drive enclosure that really isn't like your typical offering. The ICY DOCK ToughArmor MB991U3-1SB 2.5 inch USB 3.0 enclosure holds a single 2.5" drive and is designed to protect that drive very well. The housing is constructed of metal, with protective rubber sleeves, which definitely help the device earn the name ToughArmor. ICY DOCK describes it as being an enterprise-grade device, and we will see if that tag fits.

IcyDock’s external 2.5” USB3.0 solution targets the portable drive market. While it’s certainly larger and heavier than Vantec and Rosewill enclosures, it doesn’t require an external power source like the IcyDock Blizzard 3.5” drive enclosure. It also sports a Kensington lock slot if you're worried about the enclosure walking off, which is nice...